You know I read a TON. Luckily, most of what I read, I end up loving. Sometimes there’s a dud and sometimes one stands out from the rest like a gleaming beacon of literary neon. Here’s a little bloggity-blog about Nothing…

On the island continent of Australia, twins Justin and Robert Dunne spent the last ten years creating stories together. Sometimes it was a break from real life, i.e. stress-relief; sometimes it was just for fun. Sometimes it was a way to get a feeling from the past down on paper for posterity. Some of their stories attracted each other like ferrous metal to a magnet…and so began the creation of the Nothing Man.

Originally the stories were posted on Tales of the Zombie War, a website that allows fan-fiction, short-stories and continuing tales for the newb writer. This is where I got my first glimpse of The Nothing Man. I was intrigued, these guys write prose like an amalgam of Stephen King and Clive Barker. And I was hooked, I wanted more!! But there was no more!!! and damn it!! Australia is outside my stalking budget. You just know I searched…I found…on Facebook of course, my prize…The Dunnes!! They were active members on my favorite Facebook group, All Things Zombie. So I bugged them and hounded them and snagged myself a copy of the unfinished manuscript of Nothing. It was….something. It blew me away. The snippets I had read on the Tales of the Zombie Wars page were mere appetizers. You are nailed to the spot on page one, prepare yourself accordingly, you will not put it down.

A handful of strangers, separate but joined by their fate of living in a post-apocalyptic, zombie filled world. Each one pushed to their limits in a fight to survive. At the end of the proverbial rope, cue the Nothing Man. Who is he? is he even real?

The characters are so real, you feel like one of them, you experience their joy and loss. The story pulls you in so deep that I felt my pulse racing and tears track down my cheeks as I turned the pages…riveted. The Dunne boys have a unique writing style that is so complimentary and seamless that you can’t tell who’s writing. Gotta admire that. I’ve been pushing them for more. There actually is a bit…more.

Both boys have stories in All Things Zombie/The Gathering Horde, a collection of zombie shorts with some really great ones from Chris Philbrook, Eric A. Shelman and Jack Wallen. Justin has a co-written story with Jeff Clare, founder of All Things Zombie and ATZ Publications, called One Last Game. A gut-wrenching short that proves he is versatile enough to write hand-in-hand with very different styles. Robert also has a short story in the book called The Woes of Albert Cross. You see in Robert’s writing, the unique gift to get you comfortable inside the head of any character, he does it with ease. That is a story that easily lends itself to the possibilities of a full-length novel. The third Dunne story in the book is called Zombies on a Plane. Silly name but not a silly story. The Dunne’s have this ability to crank up your anxiety level notch by notch until you’re about to lose it, and then let you off with a little giggle of relief at the end and of course the question mark. What if?

So it seems that Amazon has decided that being “friends” with someone on Facebook is a like…the real thing! At first I was excited, YAY! I am totes friends with Stephen King and Norman Reedus!!! gonna go out for a beer with my FRIENDS!! …wait…oh yeah, reality bites. In the real world I don’t know those guys. At all. I haven’t ever met them or even talked to them on the phone. Hard to believe right? I know! I’d totally hang with me!! Anyway…back to Amazon, (I’ll daydream later) most of us, of course realize that being friends on Facebook means you “like” a post here and there, squeee over a kitten picture or ten, and sometimes even chat on messenger. Some of your Facebook friends are real, live, fleshy people that you actually DO interact with in the real world! But we know the difference, don’t we? Amazon, clearly, does not. The recent buzz about Amazon blocking reviews for books by people they determine with their own special algorithm (c’mon…we know its Facebook) to be “friends” has now reared its ugly head in my neck of the woods. I was blocked from reviewing a new book by a Facebook “friend” with a cruddy form letter response declaring me to be a known friend and or family member. Furthermore decreeing that Amazon prides itself on unbiased reviews and that therefore mine would not qualify under their standards.

Yes, my knee-jerk response was to scream and rant at my computers email screen. I’ve self-edited out my actual verbiage for fear of alienating the more gentile peeps. But…needless to say, I was MAD. I have a blog for reviewing books! I have over 100 Amazon reviews! I review on other sites like Librarything and Goodreads! I am a review-a-holic!! Not all of my reviews are glowing, and guess what, those authors are still on my “friends” list. I pride myself on a fair and balanced review. Can you tell I was stung by this? So I Googled and found this is not isolated. It’s happening A LOT. Because Facebook is a popular place to connect with your favorite authors. And they count on our reviews. Most people check reviews before purchasing, and reviews are not necessarily easy to come by. Not everyone has the time or inclination to write them. But now Amazon has made that coveted review even harder to come by. For the new author, be it indie or traditional publishing house, this can be devastating. More so for the indie that doesn’t have the resources of the big publishing houses, they count on their immediate circles to provide the first reviews. Less reviews generally mean less sales, which in turn hurts Amazons bottom line. So how does this make sense? How about when you see a review written by someone who openly admits they didn’t read the book at all or only read some of the book, yet take the time to rip the author to shreds…and this is ok with Amazon. I have seen them, too many times for it to just be a fluke.

So how do we fix this? how do we make Amazon understand their folly? Clearly not the way I tried, first with a quick email asking “why?” then with a longer email, both of Amazons responses were automated form letters. Sigh….really Amazon? I even pay for your darn Prime services!! So how are we going to fix this??? Let Amazon know how you feel about this policy. Sign this petition…

Send an email to Amazon, call customer service and complain, SHARE THIS POST!! Share it like crazy!!!

The last part of this post will be the exact email I sent to Amazon…

Dear Amazon Review Moderator,

I was recently denied the ability to post a review for a book that I purchased and read. Amazons response was that I knew the author personally and so could not provide an unbiased review. The determination was apparently based on an algorithm that would not be disclosed to me. The book in question is call Tales of the Nothing Man by Brothers Dunne. Here is the link for the book as you sell it.

I AM “friends” with this author via Facebook. But the term friends on Facebook is a bit misleading. The authors live in Australia. They have never been to America, which is where I live. So I have NEVER met them. I have never spoken to them on the phone. I don’t actually know them. Being “friends” on Facebook these days means very little more than, hey I am interested in you! I have been a reviewer for many years. I have written numerous Amazon reviews, plus I review on my own blog, and many other sites. My reviews are always fair and balanced and totally unbiased. In this particular case I purchased the book from Amazon and wrote an appropriate review.

I see from other friends and authors that I am “friends” with that being blocked from reviewing is becoming a commonplace incident. I encourage you to review this practice. I am sure that there are actually some biased reviewers out there, however basing it on Facebook friendships is not exactly fair. Literally millions of people “friend” their favorite author on Facebook. Most of them purchase their books through Amazon. Some of them leave reviews. Now that you are blocking people from posting reviews in this matter you are creating a situation where people who enjoy reviewing are afraid to interact with authors on social media for fear they will be banned from reviewing. If this continues and less people interact with authors on social media, then they will be less likely to purchase another book. This is due to the fact that many authors use social media to announce upcoming releases. Do you see that you are creating a snowball effect here? Less interaction with authors means less interest or awareness of new releases, which in turn means less sales. So in a nut shell, Amazon will essentially be affecting its own bottom line here. So far Barnes and Noble is NOT blocking reviews of this type. Perhaps more authors will turn to sites other than Amazon to release their books if reviews become hard to come by. Especially the indies.

Independently published authors may not make up the vast majority of Amazons Kindle sales but it is a powerful and constantly growing sector. And of course social media makes it easy to get the word out when something is affecting this sector. The recent decision to make Kindle books payable to author based on pages read count was greeted with mixed reviews. Review blocking is not something that anyone is going to ride the fence on though. I see reviews posted by people who openly admit that they did not read a book yet felt they needed to post a slanderous review for whatever ridiculous reason they see fit, yet you block a reviewer who has paid for and read the entire book and provided and thoughtful and fair review. Please review your policy. I would appreciate a response.

Yup….its been awhile since I made a post, life can certainly get in the way sometimes! I had to dust off my writing skills for my buddy Eric Shelmans latest and greatest new release. This one is nail-biting, intense, and like all of Shelman’s novels, a great frikkin ride. But also worthy of noting is that his gift of creating memorable characters really shines in this one. But alas I have not yet finished the book so I am going to shut my yap and pass this on to my two good friends who have read the book and can’t stop singing its praises…so I pass on my pulpit for this particular show and I will be back soon….maybe very soon if these two don’t behave!!!

Please welcome back Giles Batchelor and my besty Lana Sibley…oh and try to ignore that odd British way Giles talks and spells…hahaha

Giles: Hi everyone! Obviously this isn’t everyone’s favorite book nerd (does she prefer bibliophile?). My hair is shorter and I don’t do glitter. I’m guest posting from over the pond once again. This time it’s not ‘cause blondie sucks, well not entirely, just somehow I have more time on my hands. Oh yeah, and I’ve read the book we’re going to talk about. In fact, while I type this I’m one of very few people lucky enough to have read this book. It could be because it’s a totally limited edition printed on the skin of a rare Norwegian elk with only 3 copies in known existence, OR it could be that the party starts on July 19th with its worldwide release and everyone finally gets to read it.

Lana: (Elbows Giles out of the way) Hey everyone! Rise up! The glitter famine has to end! And don’t listen to Giles, he’s being all droll and British. If you’ve been wondering where Blondie’s been, besides that silly work thing, she’s busy spending her summer on some special projects and writing her own book (it’s going to be amazing!). She’s hardly had any time at all to sip frozen margaritas beside her Olympic size infinity pool. We need to talk about a book that those of us who have had the chance to read in advance of its release on July 19th are beyond excited about it, so Giles and I have volunteered to step up to the twinkly, glittering plate.

Giles: Today we are talking about…(Imagine a drumroll goes here and Blondie you can’t replace it with a glitter bomb, I’m just not having it.)

BOOM!!!

Lana: Sorry Giles, there’s gonna be glitter. I know you’re afraid your man card is at risk if you sparkle like a vampire in the sun, but you should have read the fine print on the friend contract. If you’re hanging with Shannon and me you’re gonna get glitter on you. Cue glitter bomb!

SCABS: The Gemini Exception

by Eric A. Shelman

Giles: I was going to write “by The Very Versatile Eric A Shelman”, but I think that would make googling for his author page…interesting. This guy is rather versatile though. Did you know he sings and has hundreds of thousands views on his Youtube videos? And besides his singing, he offers professional narration services to other authors…

Lana: He doesn’t sing those. But he might if you ask him to.

Giles: Excuse the interruption but I’ve digressed. Back to the star of this show which is Scabs: The Gemini Exception. What can we say about scabs? Have you ever had a scab? Did you sit there in school picking at the scabs from yet another graze on your knee? What if they never healed? What if any minor cut or abrasion scabbed over and never healed, even the smallest opening in the skin, like a mosquito bite. What if that scab kept growing to cover your whole leg, whole arm or even entire body?

Lana: It would be horrible. And kind of gross as this thing creeps up all over you. And mostly freaking incredibly terrifying, that’s what.

Giles: Yeah, not a pleasant thought… but well, that’s kind of the point, no one said Mr. Shelman writes fluffy unicorn filled marshmallow puff stories. He writes horror. Scabs is no exception so it has some icky bits.

Lana: Icky bits might be just a tad too mild. No glitter here people.

Giles: The story centers around two brothers, Scott and Warren, separated by an acrimonious divorce when they were young and then growing up living their separate lives. Scott just over the border in Canada, Warren in Florida. They have the same hobby and use it to communicate with each other from childhood – carrier pigeon.

Lana: I love the pigeons! It’s so amazing that these birds have the abilities that they do. You know, I get lost in roundabouts. And this isn’t just fiction. They really do this stuff in real life! Also, I’d like to add, I really love the brothers too. They’re kind of hot, but you probably didn’t notice that, Giles.

Giles: Uh…anyway… One day the lights go on. I know it’s the opposite of your average apocalypse where the lights go out, and when I say lights I don’t really mean those dangly things hanging from the ceiling that Edison invented. This light is more of an all pervasive light from everywhere. Inside, outside there is no shadow, no night time – the light is everywhere and never turns off. After the light has been on for a couple of weeks, the first reports of scabs begin to come in. People with innocuous little injuries – a scraped knee, a paper cut, a mosquito bite – their skin begins to scab, and the scab keeps growing. Doctors can’t help. The government has no clue.

Lana: (Snort) That’s not fiction either.

Giles: And from then on things just get weird. Scott and Warren (War to his friends) decide that they need to get back together and both set off to meet up halfway between Florida and Canada.

Lana: And it’s not just Scott and Warren. They manage to find some companions along the journey. This is where, to me, this story has all the best parts of the zombie apocalypse genre even though there are no actual zombies. It’s people who band together to survive. They say that you can’t pick your family but you can pick your friends. And I love that friends become family in these apocalyptic stories. And of course, there’s the unrelenting threat. But in Scabs, it’s a threat that unfolds as you go along but it’s every bit as terrifying and unrelenting as zombies. The threat isn’t slow in showing up either. Just like in all Shelman stories, once it begins, it takes off and just keeps accelerating. I couldn’t stop reading.

Giles: To say there are some challenges on the journey would be an understatement, but I really am in spoiler territory if I say any more. What I loved about this book is the characters. They are real, they have depth, emotion and feelings. The shared past of Warren & Scott is well explained, the differing paths they have chosen, and the bond they share as twins, is explored in depth. Oh wait, I hadn’t mentioned they were twins, probably unimportant (It’s so totally not) – Gemini=Twins – clues may be in the name.

Lana: Don’t forget the pets! They’re important to the story! A huge delight for me is that there aren’t just two legged characters in Scabs. So many apocalyptic stories totally ignore the animals. Those of us who have pets know that they are part of the family. The pigeons are their own characters. You will get attached to them. And…there’s a dog too. And that’s a character that’s super special to me.

Lana: Yep! What Giles said! And one last thing… if you’re a fan (or even if this is your first foray into the twisted mind of Eric A. Shelman) this one is truly different from anything else this author has written. This is a really BIG story. Set aside plenty of time to read Scabs: The Gemini Exception. Bring some Kleenex, leave some lights on and don’t start it too late in the evening, because if you do, you may miss work the next day

Amongst bibliophiles there is nothing more awesome than finding a new author that floats your boat and sharing it with your book-junkie friends. I have two recent additions to my ‘shout it from the highest mountain’ list and dammit, I am excited to share them with you!! Cue the glitter!!

Let me start by reiterating that I was never a fan of short stories before. I’ve admitted that. I am so glad that my mind was opened to this world of shorts because I have found it’s a great way to discover new authors. A short story is an even better way to see if you like the writing style of an author than a blurb from a full length novel. Of course it’s not entirely fool-proof, and not every short-story writer has a full length novel to read but I have had great luck so far and the two most recent authors I have read was a direct result of enjoying their shorts.

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First I have Jeff Brown, aka A. J. Brown.

His story in The Gathering Horde is “Carver”. It actually made me cry. It told the story of the deepest, saddest part of an apocalyptic situation, losing a loved one and the mental toll it would take on you. Can you keep on going? Would you even want to? I’m mentally giving myself a shake because this story sucked me in and wrung my soul out.

So looking for more stuff from Jeff, I stumbled on a webpage called Tales of the Zombie War, where a writer may be so inclined to post chunks of a story in progress or a short. Jeff had many entries of a story called Dredging Up Memories. I noticed that the comments were all glowing, people were eating it up. So I gave it a go. And all of the sudden, half the day was gone, just like that. When I ran out of entries I kind of freaked out a little; that could NOT be all of them. So I did what any crazy, author-stalking, fan-girl does…I begged. I messaged him and pleaded. GIVE ME MORE!!! He didn’t want to. He wasn’t ready, but you know….I can be persuasive, I may have mentioned something about persistence and staring through windows at all hours, unless he handed it over. He finally did, and the remaining chapters blew my socks off. There are zombies, but the tale of Hank searching through a world that had become basically shadow of its former self was intoxicating. Tom Hanks “Cast Away” with zombies. Seriously…with the same soul-searching and heart-break, there’s even a Wilson-type character. Jeff has a way of delving into your deepest fears and desires and setting them in motion in an action-packed story.

So, next I hopped on Jeff’s blog page and I was seriously impressed. The amount of content on there is amazing. He is truly a prolific writer, and while not every story is on his blog, he confesses to have written over a thousand short stories that cover a wide range of genres. He currently has three ebooks available on Amazon, plus he releases a short each month in a series he calls The Brown Bag, (all links will be available at the bottom of the page). When I asked him what piece he is most proud of, he told me Cory’s Way. This is a story about a kid whose Dad leaves and in starting over with his mom in a new place, finds himself the target of bullies. He is saved from an attack by a homeless man living under an overpass, who becomes his friend. A promise sets Cory and his only two friends on a journey, will they make it? Well….guess what I’m reading now? But I won’t tell, you’ll have to read it yourself.

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Next up, Michael Robertson…

My twin sister actually got me to read Michael Robertson sooner than I might have since she called me up with an “OH MY GOD you have to read this!!” This was after she read Crash, Michael’s first ebook release. I personally, had only read Pandora, Michael’s piece in The Gathering Horde. It was one that truly stood out because it was so different from the rest. A tale that takes place over the span of just a few minutes yet so much is revealed within its time. A story of karma in action. It’s almost impossible for me to say anything more without giving away the story. So back to my sister…she gushed for twenty minutes about how absolutely realistic and frightening the book was and she is, quite frankly, not easy to please. So I knew I would have to squeeze this one into my ridiculous TBR pile.

Once I started, I really could not put it down and then I jumped right to book two. It’s truly the stuff of nightmare because it’s so completely possible. There is no suspension of disbelief that is so necessary with zombies, this one eases you in and you see just how likely these horrors are to come to fruition should we find the inevitable societal collapse upon us. I saw a handful of reviews that seemed to point out the violence in the book. All I could think was that if these people don’t realize that this type of thing is very possible then they don’t truly understand how ugly humans can get. We are savage, and take away our structure; things are going to get ugly. Its part of the appeal of this book, to me; the ‘no-holds-barred’ way he writes, it brings the nightmarish reality of the situation right to your lap. Afterword I spent way too long, discussing with anyone who would listen, what they thought would happen in the event of a financial collapse. I find that not many people realize the tendency to violence inherent in our nature, until you point out various riots, really any riot that ended in violence, as most do. All that anger and violence and the world as they knew it hadn’t even taken the proverbial crap yet. Think about it, you will see what I mean. A book that makes you think or want to talk about its subject matter days later is rare. Book three is on its way and I cannot wait! But while I am waiting, I noticed that Michael has numerous short stories that span several genres. Be sure to check out all the links at the bottom!

The zombie genre, ahhh! It has quite literally exploded! And while its been going strong among its original fans, the genre has had the biggest pick-me-up from the success of The Walking Dead. The popularity of the show has introduced many new readers to the fan base and of course social media like Facebook and book junkie sites like Goodreads also increased readership. Now, in the past I have seen the trends of zombies and vamps wax and wane. This time though, it feels like they are here to stay. The genre keeps growing and expanding and I don’t see Mr. Zombie as quite ready to jump the veritable shark just yet. With that being said, I have three authors I am going to be babbling about today, one who I have worshipped since the beginning…Shawn Chesser , and two that I’ve just been introduced to, Jack Wallen and Chris Philbrook. The three came on to the scene around the same time and all three have put out several books. I have some catching up to do!

First up is Shawn Chesser.

Undoubtedly my favorite and he has just released an 8th installment of the “Surviving the Zombie Apocalypse” series that began with “Trudge”. Let me just remind anyone who doesn’t know, this guy wrote the first book in the series on his iPhone while watching his kid play soccer. Think about that! Blows my mind really. So, the series follows Cade, a former Delta force operator, who spends his time trying to keep his family safe from the zombie threat but also continues to unofficially serve his country. The shadow of what is left of the military and government is fighting not just the Z’s but also madmen that would take advantage of the situation for their own gain. That’s where this series differs from a lot of the others, there is the human survival tale but also we get the big picture and the unfortunate side effect of a world in turmoil and the ugly, greedy side of the human condition.

This latest edition, “Ghosts”, picks up where “Warpath” left off, and I am just not going to spoil it for you… read it, or start with “Trudge” and let me know what you think. The evolution of Shawn’s writing is most evident in this one. The emotional tie to the characters has never been stronger and instead of feeling burnt out after eight books, I actually sensed a renewal and a new excitement to the series. One of the most unexpected things is a new player in the game and I was extremely excited by her unexpected addition, I cannot wait to see what this adds to the story in the next installment. Also take note of the new covers, awesome to look at, they bring to life our favorite characters in the books.

Next in the triple threat is Chris Philbrook!

Next I read Adrian’s Undead Diary by Chris Philbrook, at the prompting of a trusted friend. I actually wasn’t even looking for another book to read and my To Be Read pile is quite intimidating actually. However, I was convinced that I was seriously missing out by not having read this yet, I almost felt…guilty and ashamed for not having read it. Like, how dare I call myself and indie-loving zombie fan and have never delved into the world of Adrian Ring? I could feel the shaking heads and exasperated sighs, and it got to me. So I picked it up, at first only to assuage my own guilt, but after about five pages, I was in literary love. Hooked, completely!! Also…this guy had a pretty awesome story in the anthology that my story is in! yayyy!!

The book is told through Adrian’s diary, and FYI? Adrian is a dude. Ok…so that is why I held off so long, I thought ‘he’ was a ‘she’, and my own personal opinion is that I just seem to enjoy the perspective of the man versus the woman in the zompoc. Go ahead…call me chauvinistic or whatever, but mostly, the way chicks are written into the zompoc tend to irritate me, and I don’t relate to them. We can agree to disagree here if you would like. MOVING ON…Adrian is, mostly,…a regular dude who just wants to stay alive, but isn’t entirely convinced he deserves to be. He tries his best to help others and you just find yourself wanting to hang out with this guy, pat him on the back or something. I laughed out loud more than once and I also found myself wiping away a tear at times, yeah, its that good. Any author that can get me so emotionally invested in his or her story that it evokes outward emotion, get my highest accolades. This one is getting shelved next to Chesser. I am reading the rest of these asap!

AND Last but certainly NOT least…Jack Wallen

Another author that was recommended to by a trusted colleague, (plus he is also in the anthology with me, I know, how many times can I mention it? its my blog so probably all I want!!! all links will magically appear at the bottom of this post!) and again I wonder how I missed out on this guy the last couple of years. Jack has quite a few books, a frikkin awesome blog, plus a mind-fucky radio show that you should definitely take the time to listen to. Makes me think of Rod Serling and Orson Wells does zompoc, which really…is AWESOME!

So …the book that I read is called I Zombie I. Starts out with a literal bang, and you are right there in the apocalypse with Jacob, the main character and a very realistic, and interesting guy. He has self-deprecating humor that breaks up the monotony of the dead world he is now living in. Jacob undergoes so um…changes as he goes along trying to be the good guy and as the story progresses I found myself growing more attached to Jacob and more in love with Jacks ability to weave words like a master. This is still zompoc yet it reads like something much more mature and poetic and the contrast is quite addicting. I won’t spoil the book for you, it simply MUST be on your TO BE READ pile…preferably at the top.

Look at that! Looks interesting, right? You totally WANT to read that. Entertainment for less than a cup of joe at Starbucks!…go on..buy it, I will wait here. In fact…here’s the link to make it that much easier

So why am puffed like a peacock over this book? Because I am in it!! I am one of 33 stories in this collection. My little story all cozied up with some truly great published authors like Eric Shelman, Chris Philbrook, and Jack Wallen. Thirty-three stories of struggle, survival, family, love, fear, guts….you get it, there’s something for everyone here. Even if zombies aren’t your typical fare. Because the human condition is the true story, and its riveting and amazing. I found myself running through a gamut of emotion while reading the other stories; fear, joy, love, anxiety, disgust…its all in there. I am admittedly not usually a great reader of short stories but I have a new love and appreciation for them. The advantage is getting a great reading experience in a short amount of time…I am not going to tell you to keep it in the bathroom but …you know….ok…I will stop there! haha!

Once you read the book will you please, please, please leave a review on Amazon? and then leave a copy of your review here so I can read it and share it!

One more bit of awesomeness, there will be a virtual release party for the book on Sunday, November 16th… be there or be square! no? OK….there will be giveaways and fun so join us please! Here is the link for that. Click it NOW!

Damyanti Biswas is an author, blogger, animal-lover, spiritualist. Her work is represented by Ed Wilson from the Johnson & Alcock agency. When not pottering about with her plants or her aquariums, you can find her nose deep in a book, or baking up a storm.